Tommy was to do nothing but fly for the last week before the celebration, he decided. The moment he got home from work he suited up, without his earbud, and flew to South. It meant more than anything that Tommy pulled it off now, so he pushed himself farther and farther after every time he landed. By the time he made it to South he could fly for a solid 43 seconds, which was almost double the progress he'd made in a week. Tommy flew around South for a while, taking breaks only when his body demanded it.

Tubbo and Ranboo both called him several times, leading to Tommy turning off his phone for the night. Most people ignored Tommy or watched him closely, trying to decide how they felt about him. Tommy swore he caught eye of one or two people on their phones watching him, but Tommy did nothing and simply moved closer to the border that led away from L'manburg entirely, where less people went due to the thick woods that led on for miles away from L'manburg.

His wings felt like they were on fire by midnight, but Tommy kept pushing himself far past his limits. He boosted himself in the air, going higher and higher and then gliding back down. Tommy felt like he was doing well, focused on making it up as high as he could. It really mattered if he could glide for the celebration, but Tommy wanted to be able to fly as well. It would give West something to be amazed by and happy about, instead of the subtle depression that fell over the city.

By 3AM Tommy had a crowd, though he paid no attention to them. They cheered when Tommy made it from the ground to the roof of a five story building, and only then did Tommy even notice them. He regained his breath while looking down at them all, feeling a small bit of pride at his progress. He'd been avoiding breaks for a while, taking very short breaks so he couldn't stop to think about anything other than not falling to his death.

Tommy flew up again, aiming to go higher before diving and catching himself around the 2nd story before he hit the ground. It was the part of the tradition Tommy wasn't expected to do, being too hard to pull off with such short notice and as big an injury as he had. Tommy was going to do it though, whether he knew if he could or not. He may very well die from this attempt. What a concept.

Tommy's wings and back were aching, straining to reach the height Tommy desperately wanted them to. Tommy pushed on, through a developing migraine and pulled muscles in his shoulders. He'd worked so hard for it, Tommy needed to get a bit higher and he could dive.

"Kid! You-" Tommy lost focus at the sudden voice and his wings gave out on him, too overworked to stay up.

Tommy stared at the sky as he fell before The Angel came into view, diving straight down trying to catch up to Tommy.

Tommy didn't manage the dive, and now he'd either die from hitting the ground or die of a heart attack if The Angel managed to catch him.

Tommy tried forcing his wings to stop his descent, but they failed him once again. If Tommy had a nickel for every time his wings almost killed him he'd have two nickels, which wasn't a lot but Tommy was mad it even happened twice.

The Angel's panic grew and Tommy glanced back, noticing how close the ground was. The wind forced his eyes closed after a second and Tommy let his body relax, accepting that The Angel wouldn't catch him in time.

The Angel managed, wrapping his arms around Tommy's torso and heaving them both up with one great flap of his wings moments before they hit the ground. He could tell the force knocked the vigilante out and immediately began flying to Captain Puffy's house, only hoping he wasn't too late. Phil slammed his shoulder against Puffy's door, bursting through and running to the couch.

"Puffy! Come quick!" Puffy ran out of her room and over to Tommy, looking for any obvious injuries before focusing her attention on his head.

"What happened?" Phil ran his fingers through his hair, stress growing every second the vigilante was out cold.

"He fell out of the sky, I don't know why he was so high up, he can't fly." Puffy nodded and began healing Tommy's head. There wasn't actually much injury for Puffy to heal, but she healed what she could find. She also healed the pulled and damaged muscles in Tommy's shoulders, back, and wings. Niki came out of their room, fixing her shirt while walking over to the two.

"Oh you found him? Is he ok?" Puffy moved her hands away from Tommy and nodded, yawning. Niki rubbed Phil's shoulder.

"Yeah he's ok. Would you tell Themis he's here?" Niki nodded and kissed Puffy's forehead, walking back into their room. Phil took a deep breath and grabbed Tommy's hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb slowly. It was more so to calm himself down than anything, his heart still racing with adrenaline.

Tommy opened his eyes suddenly and gasped for air. His hand immediately clung onto Phil's and his wings ruffled up, trying to get him airborne but incapable due to being pressed against the couch. Phil sat up and put his hand on Tommy's shoulder, pushing down gently to keep Tommy from getting up in panic and hurting someone or himself.

"You're ok, you're safe. Deep breaths." Tommy looked at Captain Puffy, shaking as he gathered his surroundings. He was on Captain Puffy's couch, The Angel was there, Tommy fell out of the sky, he almost died. Tommy followed Captain Puffy's breathing, trying to calm himself down. It was almost exhilarating. He actually felt.. alive. Tommy laughed, mostly out of shock, but also because it was all so silly.

"Why's he laughing? Is he crazy?" The Angel looked at Captain Puffy for answers. Captain Puffy looked between Tommy and The Angel, probably trying to figure out what was happening. Tommy sighed and looked up at the ceiling, a small smile forming on his face despite his best efforts.

"I wanna do that again." The Angel sighed of relief and hung his head, exhaustion from the adrenaline blooming as he calmed down.

"Yeah, definitely crazy. It's not a brain injury thing though so he'll be fine." The Angel hummed and Tommy sighed, trying to feel comfortable in his skin. His entire body was tingling and his throat was tight. It felt like he couldn't breathe, only disproved by the deep breaths he took. Themis burst through the front door and ran over to Tommy, tackling him before Tommy could even process he was there. Tommy screeched and tried wiggling away from Themis, who'd trapped him in a tense hug.

"Mate, give him space. Don't want to overwork his heart." Themis glared at The Angel from the corner of his eyes and hid his face in Tommy's hair. Tommy groaned and relaxed when he decided Themis was just being a bitch and not a threat.

"Never do that again." Tommy smirked and hummed agreement.

"Don't plan on it. I doubt next time The Angel will be there to catch me." Themis grunted and took a deep breath, forcing himself away from Tommy. It looked like it took more effort than it should have.

"We're going to talk about this later, you know." Themis glanced at Tommy's wings and he sighed, nodding his head. There was no hiding it from him anymore, which Tommy supposed was a good thing if he was going to the celebration next week. The front door slammed open, making everyone in the room jump. Eret stormed through, glaring at Tommy.

"There you are!" Eret stomped over to Tommy and The Angel stood in front of them, holding his hands up defensively. Tommy released his death grip on Themis's cape. "Everyone's been worried sick, where have you been? This is the third time I've checked here." Eret stood in front of The Angel and raised his eyebrow, blowing in The Angel's face and walking past him as he moved out of the way. Eret crouched in front of the couch next to Tommy and looked him over, blatantly ignoring Themis.

"I've been everywhere in every direction. Yes, even up and down." Eret brushed some skewed feathers in Tommy's wing back into place. It was no wonder they all looked so out of shape.

"Are you crazy? You can barely go in a straight line." Captain Puffy cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention but Eret's.

"As happy as I am to see all of you, it is 4am and I'm missing my beauty sleep. Out." Captain Puffy helped them all stand up and ushered them out of the house. The four stood just outside her door as she closed and locked it behind them, wondering where to go from there.

"Two criminals and two heroes in one space. What will they do?" Themis smiled at Tommy's joke and Eret sighed, rubbing his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"Well, the two vigilantes will leave. We need to go tell your partners you're ok." Eret placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder and Tommy flinched, retracting his wings into his back. Tommy took a deep breath and looked up at Eret.

"I don't think I'm ready to see them yet. Could you go ahead and just give me a moment to collect myself?" Eret stared down at him for a moment before nodding and running off in the wrong direction. Tommy looked at Themis and The Angel, words dying in his throat before he even had a chance to finish the sentence in his head. The two watched him expectantly, like they knew he sent Eret off because he wanted to talk to them alone. Tommy looked at The Angel, addressing him first.

"Thanks, again. I really owe you one." The Angel smiled and bowed his head to Tommy, a sign of respect he wasn't sure he deserved from the nation's top hero. Tommy bowed his head back and looked at Themis. "Sorry about making you worry." Themis smirked and huffed, nodding at him.

"It's ok kid, I'm sure your partners are going to have your head already. Remember my offer if you need it." Oh right, the house. Last time Tommy got in a fight with Ranboo and Tubbo he offered Tommy a place to stay if he ever needed it. They went shopping for food. For him. It felt like ages ago. Tommy might end up there if they got to be too much.

"Your offer?" "Of course. Thank you Themis." Themis glanced at The Angel and nodded, addressing the two at the same time. The Angel looked between them and Tommy waved, running off in the same direction as Eret had.

"What did you offer him?" Themis watched the vigilante run off and turned to The Angel. The Angel didn't know, and Themis was going to keep it that way.

"A place to go. Where I can monitor him and find out who he is." The Angel looked miffed. Themis had said before he didn't want to know the kid's identity, there was no way he was setting up a trap for him.

"Right. You could've just said you wouldn't tell me." The Angel started walking home and Themis followed on his tail, smirking to himself.

Tommy jumped through the window into their apartment, dread pooling in his stomach as his friends stood to greet him with worried expressions. Ranboo's hair was misplaced, as he had a tendency to mess with his hair when he was anxious. Tubbo stared at Tommy, looking him over a dozen times. His expression worsened the longer he stared. Lastly Eret, whose black polished nails were chipped and uneven evident as she held his hands up to her chest, ready to embrace Tommy should the opportunity arise.

Tubbo was the first to move closer to Tommy, checking him over closer a final time before sighing and punching Tommy in the face. Tommy stumbled back and held his cheek and nose, eyes stinging.

"Tubbo!?" Tubbo grabbed Tommy by the collar of his hoodie and pulled his face closer, staring Tommy in the eyes. Ranboo moved closer and stood just behind Tubbo, not daring to try to stop the shorter man's rage. "You do that again and you're dead. Got it?" Tommy nodded and Tubbo let him go, hugging Tommy tightly. Tommy hugged him back and looked at Ranboo, who looked anxious to address Tommy.

"We should talk about this. No running." Tommy's throat tightened on him, restricting his breathing. Tubbo pulled Tommy back and led him to the couch, sitting with him and holding his hands. Ranboo sat on the other side of him and Eret sat on the coffee table. Tommy gulped down his nerves. He flexed his hands and Tubbo squeezed them, silently telling him he couldn't get away.

"What were your intentions?" It was an easy enough question, Tubbo likely would've jumped into accusations had Eret not spoken first. That didn't ease Tommy's throat, and Tommy struggled to get even a word out. The three were patient, even after Tommy got frustrated and gave up, hanging his head in defeat. Tubbo squeezed his hand more reassuringly. Ranboo rubbed Tommy's back and flashed him a sympathetic smile. After what felt like an eternity, Tommy managed to mumble a short explanation.

"Practicing for the celebration." Tommy's throat ached and his chest felt heavy, something buried deep trying to claw it's way through his throat. That wasn't it, there was more. Reasoning he didn't allow himself to dive into. The fall he'd stay on the ground forever to avoid. He wouldn't allow himself to think too deep about the buried reason he went off on his own to attempt an impossible task. Tommy forced a deep breath, apathy wrapping it's sharp vines around his bones as his throat relaxed and he stared blankly at the kitchen.

"You know you're just gliding for that, Tom. Why were you up so high?" Tommy shrugged and Eret sighed, rubbing their eyes behind their sunglasses. They were all silent waiting for Tommy to speak again, but after twenty minutes it was apparent he may not. Eret waved their hand in front of Tommy's face to see if he'd respond to it, satisfied when Tommy's eyes shot over to him after a few seconds.

"Is he actually selectively mute? I thought that was a cover." Eret looked at Tubbo, who shook his head and rubbed the back of Tommy's hands calmly.

"He was when I met him. I asked him something personal and he didn't talk again for a week. When I asked why, he didn't know, just said he couldn't. He was better about it after Ranboo came along so I don't see why it'd be an issue again now." Eret hummed and nodded, understanding where the cover came from. Apparently not a cover, just a past.

"It doesn't just go away. That's probably what's happening now, we should give him room to breathe." Eret stood and ruffled Tommy's hair. "Want to come help me cook Ranboo?" Ranboo nodded and stood with Eret, the two walking into the kitchen. Tubbo squeezed Tommy's hands again and took a deep breath, settling into a more comfortable position while he waited for his friend to feel like talking again.

"Does Tubbo always treat Tommy like that?" Ranboo glanced at Eret, who was taking out ingredients for dinner, and shrugged. He tapped his nail against the bowl he was holding slowly, lost in thought.

"Not always, just when Tommy does something life-threatening. He gets really mad at Tommy, but I think it's just a cover up for how scared he is." Eret hummed and nodded, concern for Tommy not dissipating any. Ranboo thought the topic over and looked at the ingredients Eret was pulling out. They'd planned to come over and cook the trio a decent meal after Ranboo casually mentioned his interest in cooking, but Tommy had left before any of them got there and they were too busy looking for him to actually make dinner. It was late now, of course, but they wouldn't be sleeping any time soon so might as well.

"Is it safe for him here?" Ranboo looked at Eret. It was a question Ranboo had asked himself when Tubbo left Tommy immobile to face a hero alone. He'd only ever known Tommy and Tubbo, though. He couldn't imagine a life without both of them.

"Sure, if he stops putting himself in danger." Ranboo was a worry wart. Always had been, always would be. He was uncertain of his own capabilities and his friend's recklessness, but maybe there was reason to be worried. Maybe the nights Ranboo couldn't sleep and instead watched over his friends, fearful of what could happen if he wasn't there, wasn't as outlandish as he thought it was.

"Do you think he's doing it on purpose?" Ranboo set the bowl down and got out a cutting board, setting it on the counter along with their sharpest knife. He didn't want to address the question, but they both knew his answer.